Thursday, December 05, 2013

Limited Time A La Carte Dinner Buffet at Jade

A la carte buffets have their advantage:

- dishes are prepared only upon order
- no warming/chaffing dish used so food does not dry out or over-cook
- no need to even get up from your seat. Moohehe

Only for this month of December, Jade at The Fullerton Hotel offers an a la carte buffet dinner ($58++/adult; $38++/child) with over 38 dishes to tantalise one's taste buds. And judging from a recent dinner there, there are some pretty good eats.

On my visit, they had two Soups of the Day which can change daily. Both the Fan Kok and Mushroom soups turned out well executed with clean, rounded flavours.

Another hit was the Roasted Five-Spiced Crispy Pork Belly which boasted a good balance of alternating layers of fat and meat rubbed with five spice and roasted to achieve a crispy crackling. A dab of mustard was perfect accompaniment. Ok, a bit premature but I had this for dessert too. Moohahaha.

The Steamed Chilean Seabass with Preserved Olives was steamed perfectly with a flavourful mix of chopped olives, spring onions and garlic. The other fish dish on the right was the Pan Fried Halibut Fish Fillet with Crispy Julienne Ginger. Quite an interesting dish, the fried fish somehow reminded me of fish & chips. Might have been the batter. Doused with a light soy sauce, it was scrumptious.

The Steamed Abalone Siew Mai and Steamed Crystal Shrimp Dumplings didn't really make an impression. The former was luxe with the abalone but was quite heavy and meaty. I mooch preferred the Shrimp Wanton in Spicy Vinaigrette with its piquant sauce over a smooth, plump shrimp wanton.

Fried mee sua on the menu caught by attention so I ordered the Wok-fried Wheat Noodles with
Yellow Chives and Bean Sprouts in Superior Soya Sauce. Alas, it turned out bland and characterless. Beside it was the dish of Stir-Fried Assorted
Mushroom with Snow Peas in Truffle Jus- lightly stir-fried with just a subtle hint of truffle oil.

The classic Sautéed
Sliced Beef in Spring Onion and Ginger was aromatic and tender. Good for those who enjoy the tenderised Chinese-style beef typically served in Chinese restaurants and cze char stalls.

Crispy and delectable, the Sautéed Live Prawn with Spicy Pumpkin Sauce wasn't exactly spicy. The tasty pumpkin sauce was creamy and buttery.

We also tried the Stewed
Lamb Rack with Spicy Flavour in Claypot Style but it was overly gamey. :(

A nice break from the meats and seafood, the Braised
Shimeiji Mushroom with Spinach Layer Bean Curd was delicious enough to simply enjoy with a bowl of rice.

For carbs, the Traditional
Fried Rice with Egg was simple with few ingredients but decently done. Also try the Braised
Rice Noodles with Seafood in Silken Egg Gravy aka wat tan hor fun. There was a good smokiness to the hor fun and its residual heat made the beaten egg silky. We ordered this dish again and the second one seemed to have the egg cooked through. Not sure if its consistency issues.

Besides another serving of the roast pork for dessert (not kidding!), we opted for 4 items off the dessert selection. Beginning clockwise from the left:
- The Chilled Cream of Mango with Lime Jelly was refreshing with the lime jelly adding a tart edge to the dessert.
- It's gonna be CNY soon so get in the mood with the Pineapple Cookies which were not too sweet and quite fragrant.
- My personal favourite was the Hot Walnut Cream with Black Sesame Dumpling. This was just a warm bowl of comfort!
- For something different, try the Shaved
Coconut Ice with Fresh Strawberries. Creamy, sweet but balanced.

Overall, Jade's special dinner a al carte buffet is an enjoyable one with a polished, soothing ambience perfect for both business and casual meals. Food-wise, there were hits and misses for me but hey it's an a la carte buffet so you get to pick and mix and try to your heart's and stomach's content!

This promotional a la carte dinner buffet is available only until 30 December 2013.

Chew On This: Opt for some of Jade's gourmet specialties such as Roasted Peking Duck with Marinated Orange Peel & Condiments, and Simmered Egg Noodles with Boston Lobster in Spring Onion and Ginger Sauce at an additional supplementary charge.